10 Moments
by synthemesc
Summary: 10 drabbles based on 10 songs, and a whole host of characters, Wardens, and pairings. Meme shamelessly stolen from my lurkings on LJ.


So... fanfic has officially taken over my brain. I lurk terribly over on the swooping_is_bad and zevran LJ comms, and recently this song meme surfaced again... and I wanted to try it out. I'm also currently being attacked by plot bunnies, so you can expect more from me once college stops demanding my attention. Probably something concerning my (or a) m!Surana... but I also have plenty of other ideas begging to be written, too.

Anyway.... (my favorites are 5 and 7)

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**[ THE RULES ]**

1. Pick a character, pairing, or fandom you like.

2. Turn on your music player and put it on random/shuffle.

3. Write a drabble related to each song that plays. You only have the time frame of the song to finish the drabble; you start when the song starts, and stop when it's over. No lingering afterwards! (_Yeah, I might have cheated... a little. I'm kinda incapable of not reading over and editing... and some of the songs were REALLY short!! But I tried!)_

4. Do ten of these, then post them.

**#1 [ Liar – Sex Pistols ] Morrigan and f!Warden(/Alistair)**

"My mother has returned, so soon! You _lied_ to me," Morrigan spat out, sounding livid, but even Alistair, standing silently next to his Warden, could hear the hurt in her voice. "And to think I called you sister, _friend_, and after all I did for you—"

"Wasn't it you who always argued in favor of doing what's best for one's survival?" the Warden asked slyly, eyeing the witch. "To kill Flemeth... is really not a request that is conducive to _survival._"

"You killed the Archdemon!" Morrigan yelled. "And you could not even do me this one favor!"

"I got you the grimoire, didn't I?" the Warden asked. "I got you your _demon_ child."

Alistair shifted uncomfortably, looking at his hands. Morrigan's eyes narrowed.

"Indeed you did," she replied icily. "And now all of Thedas may pay the price for your dishonesty."

**#2 [ Is It Really So Strange? – The Smiths ] Jowan/Lily (f!Amell)**

It's cold.

He's wet, covered in leaves and dirt, and hiding in a bush shivering, praying to Andraste that the templars don't find him.

This wasn't how he had wanted things to turn out. Jowan hadn't meant to use blood magic in front of Lily—he knew what she would think. But he really _wasn't_ evil. He had done it because he loved her, and because he loved Amell, too. They were the only people in the world he cared about, and he wasn't about to let anyone harm them, no matter what it took.

They could hate him for it, if they wanted to, but he wouldn't apologize for caring about them.

Even if he was awful at doing anything right.

**#3 [ Oh Sister – Neutral Milk Hotel ] Alistair and Goldanna**

Alistair really was sorry for Goldanna.

Coming from Redcliffe, he knew how hard the life of a commoner could be. He had seen it plenty of times before, how women and men struggled to earn enough money to feed their families; how it hardened them, made them cold.

But he had hoped that she would listen to him, welcome him. He would have helped, if she had let him. He _wanted_ to help. She was his _family_ after all, her children his… nephews and nieces.

He desperately wanted to be a part of that. He would have done _anything._

But she had shooed him out the door instead.

**#4 [ Supermassive Black Hole – Muse ] Morrigan/M!Warden**

This was what everything had been leading up to. This was his duty, his purpose.

He was ready.

He spared one last thought for Morrigan—he did love her. He had felt betrayed, perhaps, because he suspected that she had known everything from the start, had planned to use him for this ritual from the moment they had met. Had her confessions of intimacy been real? Had she used him?

It didn't matter. She was gone, and he would not help her create a child with the soul of an Archdemon.

When he took his Joining, he had made a commitment. If a Grey Warden's life was needed to destroy the Archdemon, it would be his.

When his blade struck true, his life slipped away with the dragon's, his duty done.

**#5 [ Hate This And I'll Love You – Muse ] Leliana/Marjolaine**

The tortures reserved for those accused of high treason were among the most gruesome, unspeakable tortures imaginable. But Leliana had endured it unflinchingly, because it had been nothing compared to the despair tearing through her soul.

Marjolaine's betrayal cut deeper than any blade, shattering Leliana's spirit long before the chevaliers had a chance. Even so far away, uncaring, the woman still controlled her.

When she realized the truth of it, that was what gave Leliana the strength to escape. To escape the torture, the beatings, the imprisonment—that was one thing.

What she truly sought to escape, was Marjolaine's control on her life.

She would not become what she had both hated and loved.

**#6 [ Closing In – Imogen Heap ] f!Warden/King!Alistair, atop Fort Drakon**

She closed her eyes, wrapped her fingers tightly around the blade, and thought of Alistair. The _King._

With every step she took towards the massive dragon, drawing her closer to its death, questions pounded in her head.

_Does he still love me?_

_Is there truly no way?_

_Is this duty?_

She drives the sword in deep, severing the beast's spine and triggering an eruption of light that bathes Fort Drakon in whiteness.

When it all clears, she sees him drawing near her, finally wrapping his arms around her in triumphant, exhausted relief. She clings back to him.

King or not, whether or not they are together—he still loves her. This she knows.

**#7 [ Don't Cry Out – Shiny Toy Guns ] Rinna/Zevran**

_Don't cry out._

Facing the rack is a requirement for every Crow, and Rinna remembers her test vividly—and not without a sense of pride. She remembers the bone-cracking pain, the unbearable stretching of ligaments, and she remembers sternly chanting in her mind: _Don't cry out._

When she had succeeded, finally a true Crow, it had been the first time she remembered being truly _happy._ Everything she had endured, everything she had gone through… finally, she had won.

And then she met _him._

His kisses took her back to a place in her mind that she had not ventured to since being sold to the Crows at such a young age; a place where she had been happy _before._ He was quick with a blade and quicker still with his tongue—as it would turn out, Zevran Arainai was all she really wanted.

When they both cornered her, Taliesin's blade at her neck, accusing her of betrayal, she had pleaded with Zevran. Once.

"I love you," she had said simply. "You know I would not do this."

But his eyes were cold. He spat on her, disbelieving.

So Rinna closed her eyes, cool metal pressing into her throat, and she reminded herself: _Don't cry out._

**#8 [ Honey Pie – The Beatles ] f!Warden/Alistair or Zevran**

Even as time passed and Vigil's Keep filled with a strange assortment of characters—she seemed to have a penchant for picking up the oddest traveling companions—it still felt empty, lonely.

Leliana would have called it _tragedy_, her love being so far away while she was stuck in this arling fighting darkspawn without him.

If she had the _time,_ she would perhaps even write a letter and implore him to visit (or to write _her_), but at the end of the day, she was always so drained physically and mentally that she could do little else but sleep.

There would always be tomorrow.

**#9 [ We Both Go Down Together – The Decemberists ] Zevran/f!Cousland**

Noblewomen did not fall in love with elves. They did not fall in love with assassins.

Zevran was both, so it followed that Elissa would not fall in love with him.

After all, she hadn't fallen in love with any of the well-bred noblemen's sons that had often been paraded around Highever. She had never been particularly interested in any of the men she'd met, so why would _this_ man, born to a whore and raised by assassins, be the exception?

She didn't know. She couldn't explain it, and he refused to even put it into words.

But each time they went into battle, it was _together._

**#10 [ My Apologies – The Hush Sound ] M!Mahariel is homesick**

First, Theron had not wanted to leave the ruins. If he hadn't been nearly dragged back to the camp, he would have stayed and looked for Tamlen until starvation set in.

He especially had not wanted to leave the clan with the shem—but the Keeper had told him to, and he did as the Keeper commanded.

He had really, really, _really_ not wanted to lead the last-ditch hope that the Grey Wardens had of ending this Blight—this was a _shem_ problem, he thought. At least, it definitely seemed to be wrapped up in shem politics.

He missed Tamlen most of all, but he missed Fenarel and Merrill and Ashalle, too. He missed them _all. _He missed the trees. He missed the hunt. He missed his home.

Now, all he had was obligations.

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**A/N:** And now, I'll get back to writing my final essays -__-

Hope you enjoyed, and thanks for reading!


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